Christmas Character Study: The Animals
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Have you been breaking out the Christmas music and cheer yet? Christmas music continues to be a constant in our home. We love the classics, the hymns, and we must not forget the instrumental jazz!
One of the most popular Christmas hymns is “What Child is This,” which was written by W. Chatterton Dix in the 1800s. The second verse sings out:
Why lies He in such mean estate
where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear for sinners here
the silent Word is pleading.
When reading the Christmas story, it would be a shame to miss the animals – valuable characters who were likely present at Jesus’ birth.
“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).
Were There Animals Nearby at Jesus’ Birth?
There are many opinions on this. The truth is, Scripture does not explicitly share that animals were present at the birth of Christ. Our beautiful nativity scenes for Christmas decorations often have cows, donkeys, and sheep. However, the truth is that we do not have 100% knowledge that animals were there. However, as we observe Scripture, it is very likely that they were present. With this in mind, how does it help us love Jesus more by understanding His great sacrifice for us?
Dr. Tim Chaffey of Answers in Genesis shares his thoughts, “The lower level was divided — with one portion for living space and another where animals could be brought in at night to protect them from cold and theft… Today in some countries of Europe (e.g., Germany and Austria), the farmhouse and the animal quarters are often different parts of the same building.” He continues to support the idea that animals were present, as seen in Judges 11, and also in the fact that the manger was a feeding trough for animals.
Mary swaddled her baby Jesus in clothes and laid him in the manager. In the Greek, this is phatnē. Blue Letter Bible shares that phatnē is found in Luke 2:7, Luke 2:12, Luke 2:16, and Luke 13:15. The account in Luke 13 is when Jesus heals a crippled woman on the Sabbath. Jesus says in verse 15, “The Lord answered him, ‘You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?’” The word for stall here is the same word: phatnē. This supports the idea that there would have been animals nearby or even inside at the time of Jesus’ birth.
Jesus Came to Be Our Sacrificial Lamb
One of the most beautiful connections between the nativity story and the gospel is that, while animals were likely present at the birth of our Savior, they were also necessary at that time for the Jewish people to make sacrifices on behalf of sin. Here we have God coming to be the Perfect Sacrifice for the sins of the world. He could have been born anywhere, but Jesus was born among the animals. Jesus, who would become sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:12), was the firstborn Son of creation (John 1:10). Just like the firstborn animal without blemish would be sacrificed, He was the ultimate and final sacrifice for all sins.
“First he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them’ — though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, ‘Here I am, I have come to do your will.’ He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:8-10).
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:18-20).
Wow, Jesus was most likely born among the very animals that would have been used for sin sacrifices. He was the Messiah the people were waiting on to take away their sins. Those sacrifices were commanded by the law, but could not save people from their sins. Hebrews 10 teaches us that He established the New Covenant by the sacrifice of His body.
He makes us holy. The Holy, Holy, Holy, came into the most humble and dirty of places to remind us that He would become the sacrifice for all of our messy sins, all of our junk, and all of our disobedience. Thank you Jesus, for not staying away from we who are fallen, but by coming to us to be sin for us so that we could have Your righteousness. This is why we celebrate Christmas. Christ has come, He has won, and we can have eternal freedom and victory in Him if we simply place our faith in Him and confess that Jesus is Lord for His glory.
2 Things to Know about the Animals
1. Many Kinds of Animals
Kate Dolan has researched phatne and the possible animals that may have been at the birth of Christ. She shares, “The cattle common in the Bethlehem region would have been smaller than the dairy cows and beef cattle we are used to seeing… Besides cattle, we also tend to think of sheep in the nativity scene, since the sheep keepers are the first to learn of the holy birth… Donkeys could have been around, since they were commonly used for transportation… Scholars speculate that if Joseph brought his wife in a caravan, however, Mary could have traveled in a basket on a camel.”
So potentially, there were oxen, cows, sheep, donkeys, and camels.
2. The Manger Was a Feeding Trough
Jesus was placed in the manger. A manger is defined by Webster’s dictionary as “a trough or open box in a stable designed to hold feed or fodder for livestock.” It is a strange thought that God was born and wrapped in clothes to be placed in a feeding trough to rest. The entire setting reveals that the plan of Christ was to come and serve, not to be served. Our Savior humbled Himself from the start.
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-8).
Lessons We Can Learn from the Animals
Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. He was the Perfect Lamb who was slain.
The arrival of Jesus was humble and missional. His focus was not to be flashy, but to fully take on the hardship and suffering of this world for us.
Our sins are many, and no animal could cover all of our mistakes. We need Jesus to be our Savior.
Whether or not animals were present, Jesus was born in a place that hosted animals and he was placed in a manger where they would have been fed. We can remember that He is the focus and His entry to the earth reveals His great love for the world.
More from this study
The Inn Keeper
Mary
Joseph
Baby Jesus
The Shepherds
The Angels
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/rudall30
